Barangay Ginebra San Miguel import Jordan Murphy has huge shoes to fill. He is, after all, stepping in for one Justin Brownlee, a PBA legend who has led the crowd darlings to seven titles.
But it has been so far, so good for Murphy, who, after leading Ginebra to its 51st consecutive quarterfinals appearance, also aced his first-ever PBA playoff game. The 6-foot-6 forward finished with 29 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 blocks on Tuesday to help the barangay to a 104-95 victory over the San Miguel Beermen and stake Ginebra to a 1-0 advantage in their quarterfinals clash against the Beermen.
Jordan Murphy Is Plugging Holes at Ginebra
It turns out, the Ginebra coaching staff isn’t all too surprised that Jordan Murphy is doing well. In fact, according to assistant coach Richard del Rosario, who filled in for Tim Cone in Tuesday’s postgame presser, the gangly import is a “perfect fit” for Ginebra.
“Ever since Jordan arrived, he plugged in the holes in our team,” del Rosario said about Murphy. “Before he got here, struggle kami sa points in the paint, struggle kami sa rebounding, wala kaming post presence. He filled everything in those areas. That’s why perfect fit si Jordan on what we need sa team namin right now…”
Indeed, Jordan Murphy is a vastly different player from Brownlee, but he also is bringing a dimension that Ginebra hasn’t had since letting go of Christian Standhardinger: that inside presence.
Can Jordan Murphy Get Even Better?
Notably, in five games with Jordan Murphy as import, Ginebra has gone 4-1 and is seemingly rounding into form at just the right time. And if del Rosario is right in his assessment, even greater things are in store as the Brownlee replacement continues to get comfortable with Ginebra and the league itself.
“I think it’s complimenting ‘yung ngayon that he’s getting to know his teammates well and how the game is played here,” del Rosario pointed out. “He’s getting more comfortable. Sana magtuloy-tuloy na ‘yan because I know that teams are going to adjust to him as well. It’s up to us to help him out in the succeeding games.”
The succeeding games are no doubt about to be extra challenging. That’s because Jordan Murphy and the rest of the barangay are sure to be getting a fierce fight back from a more determined San Miguel side, which will be out to seize control of the series after that Game 1 defeat.
That starts on Friday, October 30, when Game 2 of this series tips off.
